This Onsite Pop-up Plant Turns Excavation Waste into Building Material

Published on: 30 Oct 2017

Building construction has long posed an environmental challenge due to the high volumes of waste that excavation, construction, maintenance, renovation and demolition processes generate. Watershed Materials, a California-based company, has developed an onsite method of turning excavation waste into building material, thus alleviating at least some of the problem.

The pop-up plant uses ultra-high compression to transform loose excavation spoils into sustainable concrete masonry units (CMU). The technology also takes its cues from the rammed earth building technique, of which David Easton founder of Watershed Materials and sister company Rammed Earth Works is a longstanding champion.

“There’s absolutely nothing new about building masonry structures from local materials. Some of the oldest and best-known architecture in the world has been constructed from stone and clay sourced directly on site” – says Easton.

An added bonus of the technology is that it reduces transport needs – cutting back on both expenses and carbon footprint.